Walking Speed and Mortality: An Updated Systematic Review.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our systematic review was to update the current evidence on the association between slow walking speed (WS) and mortality, expanding the current knowledge available in the literature. METHODS: A systematic review of the published data on the association of WS and mortality was carried out by searching on PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge databases. RESULTS: From a title and abstract analysis, 61 articles were included that met the prespecified criteria. After a full-text analysis, 6 articles were excluded and the remaining articles accounted for 120,838 patients and > 25,148 deaths were registered. The duration of follow-ups ranged between 2 and 21 years. In general, studies have shown a consistent association between WS and mortality from all causes. CONCLUSIONS: WS showed continuous and consistent evidence to be a good predictor of mortality. As such, our study supports the use of this tool in clinical practice as a way to improve health care.